1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation image capturing system for controlling a plurality of image capturing apparatus of different specifications with a processor that is selected according to image capturing instruction information to capture radiation images.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the medical field, there have widely been used radiation image capturing apparatus which apply a radiation to a subject and guide the radiation that has passed through the subject to a radiation detector, which captures a radiation image from the radiation.
One known radiation detector is a stimulable phosphor panel which stores a radiation energy representative of a radiation image in a phosphor. When the stimulable phosphor panel is irradiated with stimulating light, the phosphor emits stimulated light representative of the stored radiation image. The stimulable phosphor panel with the radiation image recorded therein is supplied to an image reading apparatus which reads the stored radiation image as a visible radiation image.
In sites of medical practice such as operating rooms or the like, it is necessary to read recorded radiation image information immediately from a radiation detector for the purpose of quickly and appropriately treating the patient. As a radiation detector which meets such a requirement, there has been developed a radiation detector having a solid-state image capturing device for converting a radiation directly into an electric signal or converting a radiation into visible light with a scintillator and then converting the visible light into an electric signal to read a detected radiation image.
There are available in the art various image capturing apparatus of different specifications for capturing radiation images using radiation detectors depending on the conditions of patients as subjects to be imaged and image capturing conditions including body regions to be imaged. Those different image capturing apparatus are controlled by respective processors of specifications corresponding to the specifications of the image capturing apparatus. According to a known radiographic system, various image capturing apparatus and processors are connected to a radiology information system (RIS) by an in-house network, and image capturing instruction information representative of image capturing conditions set by the RIS which include patient information, image capturing methods, body regions to be imaged, radiation dose, etc. is supplied to the processors, which then control the corresponding image capturing apparatus to capture radiation images (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-247137).
If a process indicated by order information which is supplied from the RIS by a doctor who is taking care of a patient to be imaged cannot be carried out, then a radiological technician (operator) should preferably change the order information depending on the situation at the site where the patient is to be imaged.
However, although conventional radiation image capturing systems can receive order information from the RIS or a console, they are unable to change the order information that has been received.
Hybrid systems which are capable of processing radiation image information captured by a stimulable phosphor panel and a solid-state image capturing device may be required to change part of the order information supplied from the RIS depending on the situation at the site where the patient is to be imaged. In other words, while the conventional radiation image capturing systems are only required to operate according to the supplied order information, the hybrid systems may be required to decide, at the site, which one of the stimulable phosphor panel and the solid-state image capturing device is to be used.
For example, even if a doctor instructs a radiological technician (operator) to capture a radiation image of a patient with a solid-state image capturing device, there are instances where the condition of the patient does not allow a radiation image of the patient to be imaged with the solid-state image capturing device. Specifically, if the patient to be imaged is using a wheelchair, then the patient can be only imaged using a cassette housing the stimulable phosphor panel therein because it is not possible for the patient in the wheelchair to reach the operable range of an image capturing base incorporating the solid-state image capturing device. In such a case, the radiological technician (operator) should preferably be able to change the order information.
However, if the radiological technician (operator) can change the order information, then some problems tend to arise as described below.
According to the conventional radiation image capturing systems, an image capturing apparatus and a processor for controlling the image capturing apparatus are combined in a pair, and radiation image information captured by the image capturing apparatus is corrected by the processor. If image capturing apparatus and processors for controlling the image capturing apparatus are combined in a plurality of pairs, and cassettes incorporating stimulable phosphor panels are used frequently because of the ease with which they are used, then increased radiation image information is supplied to the processors which control the cassettes. Therefore, a queuing time for the process of correcting the radiation image information is long, and it takes a long period of time until the doctor receives corrected radiation image information.